Nuclear 9/11
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Nuclear weapons materials on the black market is a growing global concern,[1] and a nuclear 9/11 could involve the detonation of a small, crude nuclear weapon by a terrorist group, in a major U.S. city, with significant loss of life and property.[2][3]
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[edit] 9/11 revisited
On September 11, 2001, nineteen al Qaeda hijackers killed some 3,000 people and caused billions of dollars damage to New York City and the Pentagon. This toll would be small compared with a nuclear 9/11 — a nuclear attack launched by a terrorist group. Detonation of a crude strategic nuclear weapon in a major U.S. city could kill more than 500,000 people and cause more than a trillion dollars in damage:[2][3]
Half a million people would be killed immediately. Hundreds of thousands would die from fallout, the resulting fires and collapsing buildings. Uncontrolled fires would rage for days and emergency services and hospitals would be completely overwhelmed.[4][dead link]
[edit] Current risk
Large quantities of nuclear materials are inadequately secured in several countries, including Russia and Pakistan. Since 1993, there have been more than 1,300 reported incidents of illicit trafficking of nuclear materials, including plutonium and highly enriched uranium, both of which can be used as the basis for an atomic bomb. When enough stolen material had been collected, only a few specialists would be needed to construct a nuclear weapon, which could then be delivered by truck to the detonation point.[1] Paul Williams, in his book The Al Qaeda Connection, reports that Osama Bin Laden has already obtained nuclear weapons and smuggled them into the US through Mexico with the help of the MS-13 criminal group.[5][unreliable source?][6][dubious ]
In 2004, Graham Allison, U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense during the Clinton administration, wrote that “on the current path, a nuclear terrorist attack on America in the decade ahead is more likely than not".[7] Also in 2004, Bruce Blair, president of the Center for Defense Information stated: "I wouldn't be at all surprised if nuclear weapons are used over the next 15 or 20 years, first and foremost by a terrorist group that gets its hands on a Russian nuclear weapon or a Pakistani nuclear weapon".[3] In 2006, Robert Gallucci, Dean of the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, estimated that “it is more likely than not that al Qaeda or one of its affiliates will detonate a nuclear weapon in a U.S. city within the next five to ten years".[7]
[edit] Response
If a terrorist group detonated a nuclear weapon in the United States, the FBI, CIA, Department of Homeland Security and the nation's national laboratories would try to quickly track down those responsible and prevent any further detonations by that group. The United States needs to expand its team of nuclear forensics experts and modernize its forensics tools to adequately prepare for, or respond to, nuclear terrorism.[1][neutrality disputed]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c After A Nuclear 9/11
- ^ a b Averting Catastrophe p. 338.
- ^ a b c A Nuclear 9/11
- ^ A ‘nuclear 9/11’ is a rapidly growing threat
- ^ Nuclear 9/11: Interview with Dr. Paul L. Williams
- ^ Al-Qaida nukes already in U.S.
- ^ a b Averting Catastrophe p. 342.
